Talking billboard



May 5, 1931. G. E. WlNTZ TALKING BILLBOARD Filed Sept. 11, 1929 4Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ficorgel'z il z'nl'z BY ATTORNEY y 1931- G. E.WlNTZ TALKING BILLBOARD Filed Sept. 11, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORGeorgeg 9. K ATTORNEY WITNESSES y 1931. G. E.. WINTZ 1,804,297

TALKI NG B ILLB CARD Filed Sept. 11, 1929 4 SheetS-Sheet 4 INVENTORATTORNEY wnwzssrzsaM Georygli uvtze 2 3m Patented May 5, 1931 GEORGE E.WINTZ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TALKING BILLBOARD Application filed September 11, 1929. Serial No.391,952.

This invention relates to improvements generally in advertisingapparatus but specifically in billboards and other forms of displayadvertising, and it consists of the constructions, combinations andarrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide a billboard with features thatwill compel attention for more than a brief period.

Another object of the invention is to provide a billboard with apictorial illustration and some broadcasting apparatus for producingsounds characteristic of the illustration.

A further object of the invention is to provide a billboard with thepicture of a human figure, at least in part, and an apparatus which willcause the features to simulate speech both as to sound and action.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the combination ofa billboard and a phonograph, with means on the billboard forming partof a pictorial illustration and being moved either by the motor of thephonograph or by a disk complemental to the phonograph record but havinga deeper groove cut therein, with means to be actuated by the rise andfall in the contour of the groove so that the motion of said means onthe billboard and the sounds issued by the phonograph will occur insynchronism and be characteristic of said illustration.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,reference being had to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a part of the improved billboard particularly exemplifying theinvention by the illustration of a part of a human figure.

Figure 2 is a sectional View of the cabinet immediately behind thebillboard, the apparatus for simulating speech by sound and action beingshown'in elevation.

45 Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail view illustrating how motion is imparted to one ofthe eyes.

Figure 5 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of the so-called lip plate. Figure7 is a detail front elevation illustrating the action of the lip platein simulating speech.

Figure 8 is a plan view, partially in section, illustrating amodification in which a disk complemental to the phonograph record isemployed in the operation of the lip plate and eye disks. Figure 9 is asection taken on the line 99 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a detail cross-section taken substantially on the line 1010of Figure 8.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the pinion and a portion of the rackbar, particularly illustrating the retainer by which the two arelooselyconnected.

Figure 12 is a cross-section of the telescopic shaft taken on the line1212 of Fig- 7 i ure 8.

Figure 13 is a cross-section taken on the line 1313 of Figure 8.

As has been indicated already in the foregoing brief statements, thepurpose of the invention is to produce a more compelling advertisingmedium. To this end, use is made of a billboard of any'size and whenperiodical displays are intendedon a small scale, the billboard can bestood up in a window or lob- 30 by of a theater, at a stand, or put in abox in front of business places. The idea is to enable utilization ofthe invention on any size of billboard so that the advantages of theinvention may be had both indoors and outa; doors. But rather than torely on such pictures or printed matter which may be applied, to .thebillboard for bringing the advertised matter to the attention of thepublic, an apparatus is associated with the billboard for imparting somedegree of animation to the picture by causing motions and soundsincluding the voice characteristic of the picture.

While these premises intentionally permit a wide range for theapplication of the principles of the invention, the illustration of thelatter is con fined to that of a part of a human figure which is madeto, s'mulate speech. A phonograph is used for t e purpose, and inaddition to producing the characteristic characteristic manner.

Attention is directed to the drawings. A.

billboard 1 is supplied with a picture 2 of the head and bust of awoman. The billboard has eye openings 3 and a mouth'opening 4.

The former possess the more or less characteristic shape of ellipticalslits, while the opening 4 is of rectangular formation. Another opening5 in the billboard is the point at which sounds from the reproducer 6 ofa phonograph 7 are issued. This opening is screened at 8, partly toprevent the entrance of foreign matter, but more particularly to enablepainting thereover so that the presence of the opening will bedisguised.

A tube 9 connects the opening with the tone arm 10 of the phonograph.The stylus of the reproducer 6 traverses the record 11 in the Inpractice, the

' phonograph will be equipped with a repeatstuds 26 guide the slide.-

ing device of which there are several types on the market, the purposeof which is to return the tone arm 10 to the starting position at theperiphery of the record when the inner end of the sound groove has beenreached by the stylus.

The motor 14, which in practice may either be of the spring orelectrical type. but preferably is of the latter, drives both theturntable 15 and a countershaft 16 which, in turn. has gear connections17 with a driven shaft 18 which is mounted in bearings 19 on one side ofthe phonograph casing 20; A cam 21 on the shaft 18 bears against aroller 22 which is journaled" on the upstanding arm 23 of a slide 24.

Aslot 25 in the slide 24 receives a pair of studs 26 which are driveninto the back of the billboard 1 (Figure 5) and carry sleeves 27 bywhich the slide 24 is spaced an appropriate distance from the back ofthe board. The The motion of the slide is rectilinear and this motion isimparted by the action of the cam 21 against the roller 22. A spring 28,attached at its respective ends to the slide 24 and toa wall of acabinet 29 by which the apparatus is enclosed, exerts a pull on theslide in one direction, thus maintaining the roller 22 in proper contactwith the periphery of the cam.

Links 30 loosely connected with the slide 24 by means of pins 21 andslots 32 are secured to so-called eye disks 33 each of which has aneye-ball 34 painted or otherwise indicated on the front surface at apoint near the lower periphery. Both a screw 35 and a pin 36 serve tosecure the upper end of the link 30 to the respective disk (Figure 3)the screw 35 serving as a pivot upon which the disk rocks behind the eyeopeninig 3. To this end, the screw 35 is driven into the bulletin board,and in order that the eye-ball 34 may appear as near to the frontsurface of the billboard 1 as possible, the latter is recessed at 37 toreceive and contain the eye disk 33.

As the disks 33 rock upon the pivots 35, the

eyeballs 34 traverse the openings 3 from the full line position inFigure 4 to the dotted line position 38, thus imparting a degree ofanimation to the figure. The mouth is also animated in part, and to thisend, the lower lip 39 (Figures 1, 6 and 7) is painted upon the frontflange 40 of a so-called lip plate generally designated 41. The innerportion 42 of this plate which is parallel to the flange 40 has slots 43(Figure 2) to receive screws 44 by which the lip plate is not onlyguided but by which the inner portion 42 isheld in bearing engagementagainst the back of the billboard 1. Y

A roller 45, carried by the inner portion 42, engages an edge of theslide 24, being pressed into such engagement by a spring 46 which isseated upon a rest 47 and bears against a heel 48 in whichthe portion 42terminates. The foregoing edge of the slide 24 is provided with aplurality of lobes 49 which are spaced apart and are intended tointermittently depress the lip plate 41 against the tension of thespring 46 as the slide 24 moves back and forth, thus imparting aquivering motion to the lip 39 to simulate the act of talking.

Attention is now directed to the modified form of the invention inFigures 8 to 13. The principle is identical with that of the form of theinvention already described but the specific mode of operating the lipplate 41 and the eye disks 33 is different. A disk 50, complemental tothe phonograph record 11, is carried by a turntable 51 which is drivenin synchronism with the turntable 15 by gearing groove 53 becomes themedium by which the lip plate and eye disks are actuated through anintermediary mechanism. The purpose is to move the lip plate and'eyedisks, especially the lip plate, in harmony with the speech or song sothat the impression of animation will become more realistic. Forexample, if the record 11 contains a sales talk or a song, the lips willmove in accordance with the voice.

This is accomplished by providing a secondary stylus 54 to follow thecontour of the groove 53. The stylus is carried by an arm 55 that hasconnection with a rack bar 56.- The rack 57 of this bar engages a pinion58 fixed on one component of a telescoping shaft 59. The othercomponentof the shaft carries a gear 60 which is larger than the pinion58. .The gear actuates the lip plate 41, for which purpose the innerportion 42is regularly perforated at 61 to provide teeth with which thegear 60 meshes.

vides a pivotal mounting for the arm 55. A

ate movement.

very light spring 64, afiixed at one end to the stud and hooked over thearm 55 at the other end, supplies suflicient pressure to keep the stylus55 in engagement with the groove 53. A swivel connection 65 of the studwith a fixed bracket 66 accommodates the necessary arcuate turning ofthe arm 55 as the stylus follows the groove.

There must be some degree of looseness between the rack 57 and thepinion 58 because the arcuate motion of the outer end of the arm 55 mustbe taken into account. The bar 56 is pivoted'to the arm 55 at 67. Aretainer 68 makes a loose connection between the bar 56 and the shaft59. This retainer is nothing more than a strap ofmetal provided with anelongated perforation 69 through which one ofthe components of the shaft59 extends and having its ends looped around the rack bar.

The purpose of the retainer 68 is to cause the slidable component of thetelescoping shaft as well as the pinion 58 to move with the rack bar asthe latter traces an arcuate path while thestylus 54 is traversing thegroove 53. It is the slight change in position of the rack 57 inrespectto the pinion 58 that must be compensated for by the loose engagement of the rack with the pinion during the foregoing period. A pin 70in the slidable component provides a bearing for one side of theretainer. The pinion 58 provides a hearing for the other side, while theretainer pushes against one or the other to slide the shaft.

A bracket 71.supports the outer end of the slidable shaft component.This end occupies a slot 72 in the bracket. The slot is necessary topermit a slight shifting of the shaft as the outer end of the arm 55makes its a rcu- The components of the telescoping shaft 59 are slidablyconnected at a cross-sectional non-circular place (Figure 12). Thispermits relative sliding but compels uniform turning. e

The other component of the telescoping shaft has support on a bracket73. It has a pin 74 on each side of the bracket for the purpose ofpreventing longitudinal displacement. The bearing of the shaft in thebracket 73 is loose so that any horizontal swinging at the right. end isreadily compensated for. A crank pin 75 on the gear 60 has connections76 and 77 with one of the eye disks 33, the links 30 of which areconnected by a rod 78 so that there may be uniform turning of the disksas in thefirst instance.-

The operation is readily understood. The motor 14 is the common sourceof motive power for the phonograph 7, the supplemental turntable 51 (inthe instance of the modification), and for the designated features ofthe picture 2. Considering first the first form of the invention, thephonograph record 11 will have recorded thereon such sounds as may bedeemed most appropriate for the particular advertisement on thebillboard 1. These sounds may comprise either.

speech or song.

When speech is employed, it will be composed to address the passerby ina purely informal manner, for example: Hello, Fred, have you had yourLucky today etc. Any passerby will be attracted by the voice, and sinceFred is a popular name, there is the possibility that quite-,anumber ofpersons will be particularly attracted by hearing themselves sofamiliarly addressed.

As the sounds of speech continue to issue at the o ening5, they will beaccompanied by a roc ting motion of the eye-balls 34, thus furtherdirecting attention to the particular advertisement. At the same time,the lower lip 29 will quiver, thus making it appear as though the womanwere actually speaking. In practice, the front flange 40 will'not benearly so prominent as in the drawings, and by countersinkin the flange,its presence could be made a most imperceptible. All that the observerwould then see would be the moving lower lip.

Consider next the modification in Figures 8 to 13. The sole idea of thesupplemental disk 50 is to make it appear as though the lower lip 39were actually articulating the speech or song. With the arrangement inthese are connected with the gear 60, the mo-v tion will be variablerather than uniform as in Figure 2.

To these ends, the groove 53 is cut with somedegree of similarity to thesound groove in the record 11. Of course, the multitudinous microscopicundulations of the sound groove will be omitted but the maincharacteristic of the groove 53 will be the same as that of the soundgroove. The groove 53 will be much coarser. It will be much deeper inplaces, as suggested in Figure 10, so that it will produce asuificiently distinct action of the arm 55 to be transmitted through theintermediary mechanism 56, 59 and 60 to the lip plate.

It has been stated in respect to the first construction that some knowntype ofrepeating device will be used to return the tone arm 10 to theoriginal position after the record has been played. A similararrangement will be employed in connection with the modification. A pairof the repeating dev ces will be used, one for the return of the tonearm 10, the other for the return of the arm 55. These devices are notillustrated because thereare several known types on the market and suchone as will best serve the purpose will be selected for actual use.

The source of speech is not necessarily confined to a phonograph record.Any broadcasting apparatus may be employed. The combination thencomprises a billboard with a pictorial illustration and suitableadvertising matter and a broadcasting apparatus for producing soundsappropriate to said illustration.

While the construction and arrangement of the improved talking billboardis that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications andchanges may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventionand the scope of the claims.

I claim 1. Advertising apparatus comprising means having a pictorialaspect, a movable member being part of said means, a revoluble dischaving a spiral undulated groove, movable, means having a stylus tofollow the groove, linkage attached to said means to which its movementsresulting from the action of the stylus are imparted, a telescopic shaftwhich is oscillated by said linkage by virtue of the undulations of thegroove and telescoped by virtue of the radial displace-' ment of thestylus, and means for imparting the oscillation of the shaft to saidmovable member. e

2. Advertising apparatus comprising means having a pictorial aspect, amovable member being a part thereof, a telescopic shaft having means forimparting movements to said member, a revoluble disc having a spiralundulated groove, an arm having a stylus to follow the groove, means bywhich the arm is supported for rocking movements in two directions tocompensate for the undulations of the groove and the radial displacementof the stylus, a meshing rack and pinion respectively carried by the armand shaft, and means to keep-"the rack and pinion in mesh to maintainthe oscillations of the shaft while said rack and pinion shift 1naccordance with said displacement of the stylus.

3. Advertising apparatus comprising means having a pictorial aspect, amovable member being part of said means, a revoluble disc having aspiral undulated groove, movable means having a stylus to follow thegroove, linkage attached to said means to which its movements resultingfrom the action of the stylus are imparted, a telescopic shaft which isoscillated by said linkage by virtue of the undulations of the grooveand telescoped by virtue of the radial d splacement of the stylus, meansfor impartlng the oscillation of the shaft to said movable member,apparatus for producing sounds to accompany the movements of the movablemember, and means by which the revolutions of the revoluble disc arederived from said apparatus.

4. An apparatus comprising movable eye and lip members, soundreproducing apparatus, and means to produce irregularities. of movementof said members in approximate agreement with the irregularities of thesound reproduced by said apparatus.

5. An apparatus comprising movable eye and lip members, soundreproducing apparatus, and means operating in conjunction with saidapparatus to impart continuously varied movements to said members inapproximate conformity to the vibrational values of the sound of saidapparatus. A 6.An'apparatus comprising movable eye and lip members,sound reproducing apparatus, an element simulating a phonographrecordfmeans to actuate said apparatus and record at the same time, andmeans to translate the irregularities of the record groove intoirregular movements of said eye and lip members in accompanimentto thesound reproduction.

7. An apparatus comprising movable eye and lip members, an elementsimulating a phonograph record, means to rotate said element, and meansfor communicating the undulations of the groove in said element to saideye and lip members.

8. An apparatus comprising a movable member forming part of a pictorialrepresentation, an element simulating ayphonograph ing said member, ashaft having connection with said movable member, rack and pinionelements, one of the elements being carried by the shaft, an armcarrying the other element, and means on the arm to'follow the groove.

10. A pair of revoluble elements each having a spiral, undulating grooveof which one is a sound groove, a reproducer coacting with the soundgroove, an element having a stylus coacting with the other groove, amovable member comprising part of an advertising apparatus, connectingand actuating means between the element and said member, and means fordriving said revoluble elements at the same time thus to produce soundsin accompaniment to the movements of said member.

GEORGE E. WINTZ.

